World Orphan Day

     Tomorrow, November 14, is International Orphan's Day, a day set aside to remember and pray for the worlds orphans.  The United Nations report  "UNICEF State of the World's Children" produced in 2005 reports that there are between 143 - 210 million orphans in the world today.  Many criticize these numbers as being too high because they include children in under developed countries who have lost one parent and are cared for by the other parent on a part time basis.  However many orphan advocacy groups (Stars Foundation) subscribe to the 143 000 000 number because the UN report does not include many Islamic countries who refused to give information. (Iraq for example has over 200 000 orphans that are not included in the report.)  The UN stats show there are between 40 to 50 million orphans whose parents are both deceased. (18 million are from sub Saharan countries as a result of Aids/Hiv.) The remaining children, ages 0-16, have either been removed from their home because of lack of care or abuse, or they have been abandoned by their parents, due to economics, the health of the parents, or the inability of the parents to raise them.  Even more tragic is the fact that some children leave their home because they are sold and trafficked by their own parents.  
     Ideally if a child is left orphaned, relatives will step in to care for the child.  When this is not a possibility, there are basically three other places where these children end up.  Orphans in most western countries live in the foster care system, where individual care and attention can be given to a child by loving people. However multiple disruptive placements can still damage a child.  There are over 500 000 kids in the US in foster care, 130 000 available for adoption.  Communist and many former communist countries still use state run orphanages and many developing countries have orphanages run by charitable organizations, such as churches or the Red Cross.  In an orphanage there is often a high child to caregiver ratio, which doesn't make it easy or even possible for caregivers to give individual attention or love to a child.  Children often are neglected for long periods of time, and many babies give up crying as it goes unanswered anyways.  Rates of violence in an institution are six times higher than in foster care and sexual abuse is four times higher.  Two reports to come out of Russia and the Ukraine in 1998 show that 10-15% of orphans who aged out of the system at 16 years of age commit suicide before they turn 18.  Almost 60% of girls resort to prostitution for a time, many permanently, while 70% of boys commit a crime within three years.  Children that do not live in an orphanage or with foster parents are left on the streets.  The UN estimates 150 million children are living on the streets but admit there is no way of knowing how many are orphans.  Children on the street are subject to the weather, abuse, sexual exploitation, mal-nurishment and neglect.
     Perhaps some of you have never heard these statistics before and are shocked by them.  Others have heard them before and its so easy to forget in our busy lives.  Let's not forget though, our Christian duty to care for the most vulnerable people in the world.  Let me leave you with one last statistic.  Last week the UN predicted the seven billionth person was born. Despite the fact that there are seven billion people on this planet, only two hundred and fifty thousand children will be adopted this year, 0.17% of the world's orphans!

Posted by Derek and Valerie

Matthew 25

Matthew 25:34-40

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 

36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 

37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 

38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 

39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 

40And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[a] you did it to me.'

A Response to Comments on Birth Parents

A couple of months ago a reader of our blog posted the following comments.
“Praying for your little one as well as the child's mother/father/grandparents, etc. Your gain is someone else's forever loss. Adoption is the only trauma, where we expect the victim to be thankful. As much as I think what you are doing is noble, please never forget that there is another very very sad side to all of this. Your happiest day...someone else's saddest day.”  The comments were posted by an anonymous reader. I apologize for not responding sooner and hope the reader is still following our story.  Val and I would like to thank them for keeping our child and birth family in their prayers, and for their insight.  The reader is absolutely correct.  Being orphaned is a trauma greater than most of us will experience, for everyone involved.  Birth parents and their families suffer a great loss when either a child is removed from them, or given up, because they cannot provide care.  The child is still loved and the sorrow and guilt felt would be very hard to live with.  I don’t want to sound sanctimonious when I say this, I just want to reassure our reader that Val and I have been praying for the birth family since we started this process.  We can’t imagine being in a situation of not having the health, a home, or even enough food required to raise your child and being forced to give up your child.  Monday, November 14 is International Orphan Day. Please keep all the world’s orphans, as well as their families, in your prayers.

Posted by Derek